Pioneer Cemetery (3) Markers

For American Fork's first sixteen years, this was where grief ended up. From about 1852 to 1868 the settlement buried its dead here, with neighbors and kin preparing the bodies and digging the graves themselves — there was no one else to do it. The plaques list the families: Adamses in quantity, Chipmans, Eldridges, the town's founding names. Native people were buried in this ground too, alongside the settlers. After 1868 burials moved elsewhere, and the old ground settled into what it remains — a quiet plot holding the first generation.

What the plaque says

This spot served as burial ground for pioneers of American Fork from about 1852 to 1868. When death came to the village, bodies were prepared for burial and graves dug by friends and relatives. Some Indians were buried here. Listed on the plaques are names of pioneers buried here. Plaque South side Sabrina Clark Adams James Arza Adams Charles Franklin Adams Agnes Adams Davis Adams Arza Quincy Adams Mary Adelaine Adams Moroni Adams Elizabeth Adams Lydia Ann Adams Sarah Alston Thomas Bishop Mary Ellen Binnall Edwin E. Boley Samuel Bourne John Bourne Franklin Barratt Milton Davis Chipman Betsey Chipman Andrew Crystal Currey Child Henry Cunningham Henry Covington Sophia Dayton Louisa Lance Dayton John Eldridge Zina Eldridge John Fisher George William Filcher Charles Henry Filcher James Faulkner John M. Green William Gardner Joseph Hansen Ingar Mortensen Hansen Thomas F. Hendley Mary Ellen Harrington Lois Elma Harrington Mary Jones Harrington Sarah Julian Mary Jane Jackson George F. Jackson Plaque North side Mary E. Kettle Ann Kelley Mary King Mortimor King Hyrum Kelley Elizabeth Mitchell Jedediah Grant McNeil John Alma McNeil John Mercer Emma Julian Mercer John Miller Elizabeth Dean Nichols Stephen Nichols Daniel Nichols James Nichols Sarah Ann Neilsen Miss Sarah A. Neilsen Baby Neilsen Anna Marie Olson John Proctor Vivian Proctor James Parker Emma Pool Elizabeth Ralphs Samuel H. Robinson Ann Wooten Robinson Alfred Robinson Margaret Smith James Moroni Shelley Charlotte Shelley William Boyer Shelley George Heber Shelley Elizabeth Shelley Emma Shelley Martha Sykes Henry Thornton Mary Jane Varney Caroline Elizabeth Varney Jacob William Varney Joseph Woodhead Rosannah Dishley Wood George Wearhem

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lehi Roller Mills — 2.9 mi
  The flour mill from the movie Footloose
• Timpanogos Cave National Monument — 6.0 mi
  Three spectacularly decorated caves connected by hand-carved tunnels
• Thanksgiving Point — 6.9 mi
  A massive complex with dinosaur bones, gardens, and a curiosity museum
• Alpine Loop Summit — 9.4 mi
  The 8,000-foot high point of the Alpine Loop, face to face with Mount Timpanogos

More markers nearby

• First Flour Mill — steps away
• American Fork Presbyterian Church — 0.4 mi
• Statue of Responsibility — 0.4 mi
• Veterans Memorial Building — 0.4 mi